Hundreds of people gathered today in Superior to say goodbye to a Wisconsin native who was killed in Iraq.

Sergeant First Class Matthew Pionk was slain January ninth in an explosion in Iraq.

The 30-year-old was a native of Oliver, a small town near Superior, and graduated from high school in Superior in 1996. He had recently moved to Eveleth, Minnesota.

The funeral at Cathedral of Christ the King Catholic Church was closed to reporters, but friends and family members spoke beforehand about Pionk.

Derek Eckstrom, who served with Pionk in Mosul, Iraq called Pionk "a soldier's soldier."

Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle and Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty attended the ceremony, and flags flew at half-staff across Minnesota today in Pionk's honor.